Picture slide feeding mechanism



Jan. 20, 1948. M. E. BLUMENSTEIN 2,434,785

PICTURE SLIDE FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 23, 1945 CM B 1:52? 44 18 25 16 CV 3 36 a, TnaxEBluhwnSfQim Patented Jan. 20, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PICTURE SLIDE FEEDING MECHANISM Max E. Blumenstein, Hyattsville, Md.

Application August 23, 1945, Serial No. 612,146

2 Claims. (CI. 88-28) This invention relates to an'improved picture slide feeding mechanism, and has for its general object to provide a simple, practical, inexpensive and reliable finger-operable mechanism for feeding picture slides successively to a viewing position.

While the picture slides may be supplied by hand to the mechanism to be fed by the latter to the viewing position, a magazine preferably is provided to contain the slidesand in this connection a special object of the invention is to provide a projectable and retractable member for feeding the slides successively from the magazine to the viewing position and to provide a latch for cooperation with said member to insure proper successive feeding of the slides.

With the foregoing and other objects in view. which will become more fully apparent as the nature of the invention is better understood,-the same consists in a mechanism for the purpose stated embodying the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing and defined in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein like characters of reference denote corresponding parts in the different views:

Figure 1 is a vertical section through a mechanism constructed in accordance with one practical embodiment of the invention' Figure 2 is a section on the line 2--2 of Figure 1 through the mechanism.

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 1; and

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Figure Referring to the drawing in detail, A designates a portion of the casing of a picture slide viewing apparatus and B designates, generally, a picture slide slideway which may be of any suitable con struction and which may be disposed in any suitable manner relative to said casing A.

In the present instance, the slideway B is illustrated as being disposed vertically within the casing A adjacent to the front wall I!) of said casing, and as being formed by a pair of Vertically disposed, spaced apart, parallel rails I l, I I fastened against the front face of a vertical wall or panel I! suitably mounted in the casing A adjacent to the front wall l thereof, said rails H and II being suitably grooved or channeled at their adjacent sides, substantially as shown, to accommodate the side marginal portions of the picture slides.

Adjacent to and extending parallel to the slideway B is another slideway, designated generally as C, for a member I-3 for use in advancing picture slides through the slideway B. As in the case of the slideway B, this slideway C may be of any suitable construction and is illustrated in the present instance as being comprised by the rail If and another rail ll disposed in spaced, parallel relationship to said rail II and suitably fas tened to the wallor panel I 2, the adjacent sides of said rails II' and I4 being grooved or channeled to accommodate the side marginal portions of the member ii.

In the wall or panel I2, between the rails l i and II' is an opening I5 with which the picture slides, designated as S, are to be alined, and when a picture slide is alined with said opening it is in a position to be viewed or, in other words, is in the viewing position.

Within the casing A is an electric lamp l6 or any other suitable means for illuminating a picture slide disposed in the viewing position, while in front of said casing, is a lens, or a lens system, designated as H, through which a picture slide disposed in the viewing position is to be viewed and which is effective to magnify the picture on the slide.

Picture slides may be fed by hand to the slideway B to be advanced by the member I 3 to the viewing position. Preferably, however, a magazine I8 is provided to contain a number of picture slides to be fed successively to the slideway B for advance therethrough by the member I 3 to the viewing position. The magazine I8 is located suitably in advance of the viewing position, in

' alinement with the slideway B, and has its outlet ally and successively from the magazine to the slideway B, a new slide entering said slideway whenever the last-fed slide is slid therealong from its position in registration with the open or outlet end of the magazine l8. To permit the slides to leave the open end of the magazine l8 and enter the slideway B, the flange portions of the rails I I, I l' in alinement with said magazine may be suitably cut away as indicated at l9. Alternatively, the entrance end of the slideway B may be disposed below the bottom of the magazine l8 if the slideway is disposed vertically and the slides are to be fed downwardly, or the said entrance end of said slideway may be disposed to either side of the magazine if the slideway is disposed horizontally and the slides are to be fed laterally.

The member l3 carries a finger 20 which extends into the slideway B for engagement with the trailing edge of a slide S, as regards the direction of advance of the slide through said slideway, so that by shifting said member in the is suitably spaced beyond the trailing edge of a picture slide S disposed in the slideway B in alinement with the magazine 18. From its position in engagement with the stop 22, the member I 3 is slidable in the direction of advance of the picture slide an amount just sufficient to advance the picture slide to the viewing position, suitable stop means 23 being provided to prevent any further advance of said member. Consequently, if the member i3 is in its retracted position and a picture slide is disposed in the slideway B in alinement with the magazine l8, projection or advance of said member I; until it is stopped by the stop means 23 will result in the picture slide being advanced exactly to the viewing position. I

In depth, the slideway B is approximately equal to the thickness of a picture slide 8. Therefore, not more than a single picture slide may. enter said slideway from the magazine [8 atany given time. In other words, before another picture slide may enter said slideway from said magazine, a picture slide in said slideway must be advanced beyond a position in alinement with said magazine. In this connection, it is desirable to prevent feeding of a picture slide from the magazine l8 into the slideway B at any time except when the member i3 is retracted to avoid interference with retraction of said member and to insure that when a picture slide is fed from said magazine into said slideway, the finger 20 will be disposed beyond the trailing edge of the picture slide so as to be effective to advance the same in response to projection of said member I3. As a picture slide is being advanced from a position in alinement with the magazine IS, the finger 20 moves toward the leading edge of the next slide in said magazine and prevents the leading edge portion of said next slide from being fed to the slideway B. At the same time, a suitable latch element 24 acts to prevent the trailing edge portion of the said next picture slide from being fed from said magazine to said slideway. The said next picture slide thus effectively is prevented from being fed to the slideway B until the member I3 is retracted. The latch element 24 may be either slidable or pivoted. In the present instance, it is shown as being pivoted. In any event, it is urged in the direction of advance of the slides S against a suitable stop 25 by a suitable spring 26. Moreover, it is located so that when it is disposed against said stop 25, a suitable portion thereof overlies the trailing edge portion of the next picture slide to be fed from the magazine l8 and thus prevents feedment with the opening I5.

ing of such slide from said magazine. The locapicture slide to permit the same to be fed from the magazine It into the slideway B. Accordingiy, upon retraction of the member l3, s. new picture slide enters the slideway B from the magazine l8 for advance by the member I! when said member subsequently is projected, and as a result of initial projection of said member I 3 the latch element 24 moves against the stop 25 and into overlying relationship to the trailing edge portion of the next picture slide is illustrated by dotted lines in Figure 2, to hold the next slide in the magazine 18 until said member, l3 again is retracted.

The slideway B maybe of a length to contain either several picture slides S or only two picture slides, one in alinement with the magazine II and the other in the viewing position in aline- In any event, the picture slides are disposed in edge to edge relationship in the slideway B so that advance of a picture slide by the member l3 results in advance of all slides in said slideway. Moreover, the disposition of the magazine l8 relative to the viewing opening 15 is such that each time a new slide enters the slideway B from the magazine l8 and is advanced by the member l3, a picture slide in the viewing position is advanced and discharged into a suitable receptacle 21, and a new picture slide is advanced to the viewing position.

To adapt the member I3 for finger projection, the same may be provided with a suitable finger.- engageable element 28 which may be carried by the outer end portion of an arm 29 extending from said membenthrough a slot 30 in the front wall"! of the casing in while in order to hold the picture slides against undesirable accidental sliding movement in the slideway B, said slideway may be provided with suitable leaf springs 3| or other suitable friction means for engage ment with marginal portions of the picture slides. From the foregoing description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, it

, is believe dthat the construction and operation of the present mechanism will be clearly understood and its advantages appreciated. It is desired to point out, however, that while only a single structural embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, the same is readily capable of specifically different structural embodiments within its spirit and scope as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A mechanism for feeding picture slides from a magazine to a viewing position, said mechanism comprising a slideway for the slides, a magazine to contain the slides, said magazine being disposed to have slides fed therefrom successively into said slideway, means to insure feeding of slides successively from said magazine to said slideway, a member mounted for sliding movement longitudinally relative to said slideway between retracted and projected positions, a projection on said member for engagement with a slide in said slideway when said member is in its retracted position and the slide is alined with said magazine and disposed in advance of the viewing 5 position so that sliding of said member to its projected position is efiective to advance the slide to the viewing position, said projection being engageable with the next slide to be fed from the magazine to theslideway to prevent feeding of the same until said member has been projected and subsequently retracted, stop means to stop slide-advancing sliding movement of said member when a slide being advanced thereby reaches the viewing position. yieldable means for retracting said member, means for finger engagement to effect projection of said member, and a latch yieldably urged to overlie a portion of the next slide to be fed from said magazine and for cooperation with said projection to prevent feeding from said magazine to said slideway of the said next slide to be fed from said magazine to said slideway dur- 8 advance by said member to the viewing position of the slide last fed from said magazine to said slideway, said member being effective upon retraction thereof to move said latch to release the next slide for movement from said magazine into said slideway for advance to the viewing position when said member again is projected.

6 2. A mechanism as set forth in claim 1 in which the latch is pivoted for swinging movement between slide-releasing and slide-holding positions.

MAX E. BLUMENSTEIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 786,883 Edmonds Apr. 11, 1905 1,002,078 Paoli Aug. 29, 1911 1,001,965 Leopold Aug. 29, 1911 1,729,304 Wagner Sept. 24, 1929 1,298,417 Stillwaggon Mar. 25, 1919 1,443,711 Lauchly Jan. 30, 1923 2,353,888 Fuge July 18, 1944 2,298,322 Wengel Oct. 13, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 8,185 Great Britain 1892 22,151 Great Britain 1892 

